With 91 days to go until the Senedd elections, Reform are polling second – so it’s probably about time that they actually unveiled their leader. At a press conference in Newport this morning, Nigel Farage produced not just one rabbit but two. First, there was the long-awaited defection of James Evans after his expulsion from the Tories last month. Then, there was the announcement of Dan Thomas as the actual leader. ‘Who?’ asked most of the accompanying hacks…
Thomas might lack a national profile but he boasts both roots in the Valleys and experience of local government. A former Barnet Council leader from 2019 to 2022, he switched to Reform from the Tories last year, standing down as a councillor for Finchley Church End in December after returning to Wales with his family. He told the assembled hacks that ‘uncontrolled immigration’ was one of the major causes of the housing crisis in Wales, railing against issues caused by houses in multiple occupation, barber shops and a car wash which he said was the ‘centre of a people trafficking ring.’
Already Plaid Cymru has hit out, accusing ‘Farage’s lapdog’ of being responsible only for getting Reform into Downing Street. Punchy stuff to shake up this race…
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